Trade deadline winners and losers

Lakers among teams that improved the most, but Nets fared poorly

Steve Mitchell/US PresswireRamon Sessions should provide the Lakers with a big lift in the second half of the season.

The huge news at this year's deadline, of course, was the non-trade of Dwight Howard, but there were still some deadline deals that helped and hurt teams.

I won't look at every deal and every team here because some moves were fairly irrelevant (i.e., the Memphis Grizzlies' Sam Young to the Philadelphia 76ers for the draft rights to Ricky Sanchez); what I'm concerned with are the moves that will have significant impact.

Here is my take on the teams that were the biggest winners and losers. (Note: I list the teams from biggest winner/loser to smallest, so, among the winners, I'm saying the Lakers helped themselves the most.)

Winners

Los Angeles Lakers
From a sentimental standpoint, we all hated to see Derek Fisher moved. Fisher made some of the greatest clutch plays in recent Lakers memory and was a great locker room presence. The club will miss his leadership and the calming influence he had on Kobe Bryant. In trading away Fisher and Lamar Odom this season, the Lakers moved their two best voices in the locker room. They might fall into an emotional funk for a few days.

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